Historically, when selecting data from a data source, such as a database, a user has been required to have a certain amount of expertise in a data selection language, such as SQL. For example, to extract data from Microsoft SQL Server, a user should have familiarity with T-SQL; to extract data from Oracle's database system, a user should be familiar with basic SQL and PL/SQL; and to extract data from an Excel table, a user should be familiar with Excel functions. Even to extract data from a simple text file, a user should be familiar with a text parsing language, such as PERL.
As a result, previous database access models require a user to manually enter SQL or other data selection language statements. Alternatively or additionally, such database access models display available database tables and allow users to join tables using primary keys, in addition to selecting attributes associated with those primary keys.
Accordingly, methods and systems for selecting data elements from a data source without requiring knowledge of a data selection language and/or familiarity with primary keys are desired. Such methods and systems would allow users to select data from data sources in a simpler manner, facilitating greater accessibility to databases and more widespread use of database applications.